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EFF wins reexamination of bogus patent
Electronic Frontier Foundation Media Release For Immediate Release: Tuesday, October 23, 2007 Contact: Jason Schultz Senior Staff Attorney Electronic Frontier Foundation jason@eff.org +1 415 436-9333 x112 Paul Grewal Partner Day Casebeer Madrid & Batchelder pgrewal@daycasebeer.com +1 408 873-0110 EFF Wins Reexamination of Bogus Patent Patent Office to Take Second Look at Meritless Claims Threatening Mobile Information Access San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has won reexamination from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) of a bogus patent threatening mobile information access. The reexamination order is the third granted by the PTO after challenges from EFF's Patent Busting Project. NeoMedia Technologies, Inc., claims to own rights to all systems that provide information over computer networks using database-like lookup procedures that rely on scanned inputs, such as a barcode. NeoMedia has used these claims to threaten and sue innovators in the mobile information space. But EFF's reexamination request, filed in conjunction with Paul Grewal and James Czaja of Day Casebeer Madrid & Batchelder, showed that the functionality covered by NeoMedia's bad patent was repeatedly included as part of prior patent applications from other companies. "Overbroad and invalid patents threaten to chill important innovations, especially for startups and other nascent entrepreneurs," said EFF Senior Staff Attorney Jason Schultz. "It's important that technology in the public domain stays there." NeoMedia has the opportunity to file comments defending the patent before the PTO makes its final determination. However, the PTO has narrowed or revoked roughly 70 percent of patents it has decided to reexamine. "Re-examination is an essential part of the patenting process," said Paul Grewal, a partner at Day Casebeer Madrid & Batchelder. "We are pleased that the Patent Office has decided to examine NeoMedia's efforts to claim for itself what the public has long enjoyed." The successful reexamination request for the NeoMedia patent is the latest big victory for EFF's Patent Busting Project, which combats the chilling effects bad patents have on the public interest and innovation. So far, the project has helped kill a bogus patent covering a system and method of creating digital recordings of live performances. The PTO has also granted another EFF reexamination request for an illegitimate patent for online test-taking. For the full reexamination order: http://w2.eff.org/patent/wanted/order_granting_reexam_neo... For more information about the NeoMedia patent reexamination: http://www.eff.org/patent/wanted/patent.php?p=neomedia For more on the Patent Busting Project: http://www.eff.org/patent/ For more on Day Casebeer Madrid & Batchelder: http://www.daycasebeer.com For this release: http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2007/08/eff-challenges-bogus... About EFF The Electronic Frontier Foundation is the leading civil liberties organization working to protect rights in the digital world. Founded in 1990, EFF actively encourages and challenges industry and government to support free expression and privacy online. EFF is a member-supported organization and maintains one of the most linked-to websites in the world at http://www.eff.org/ -end- _______________________________________________ presslist mailing list https://falcon.eff.org/mailman/listinfo/presslist (Log in to post comments)
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